Eva Mendes Addresses Claims That She ‘Quit Acting’

Eva Mendes is shutting down claims that she “quit acting.” The Hitch actress, 48, took to social media to “shift that narrative” after filming her last film, Lost River, in 2014. Sharing a series of headlines from over the years explaining why she supposedly quit the world of acting, Mendes spoke her truth in the caption.

“I never quit acting,” she wrote. “I wanted to be home with my babies and fortunately my other business ventures allowed me to do that more than acting would.” Mendes and her longtime partner, Ryan Gosling, met on the set of the 2011 film The Place Beyond the Pines and went on to welcome two daughters together – 8-year-old Esmeralda and 6-year-old Amada.

Mendes continued she was “not excited” about the “stereotypical roles” that were being offered to her after working on her “dream project,” Lost River, in which she starred alongside Gosling. The film, which was Gosling’s directorial debut and a semi-autobiographical story of his own childhood, is a “tough act to follow,” Mendes explained. When it comes to the point of her post, Mendes said she wanted “to shift that narrative,” making it clear once more, “I never quit.”

Mendes has been focused largely on her family life, which she and The Notebook star have kept largely private over the past decade-plus of their relationship. But in May, Mendes told The View hosts she would be open to possibly returning to the big screen – but only for something that matches her specifications.

“I have such a short list of what I will do. Like before kids, I kind of was up for anything – I mean, if it was a fun project,” she said at the time. “But now I won’t do violence, I don’t want to do sexuality, I don’t want to do… the list is short.” The Ghost Rider actress also revealed in a 2020 radio appearance that she “never wanted babies” before meeting Gosling, “and it kind of worked out to where I was 40 and having my first baby. I think I was 42 for the second one.” She continued, “So it worked out in that way that I had a career and then I changed my focus to my family.”